PAUL HAWDON Ambiguous Situation

Paul Hawdon is a painter and printmaker with a great love of drawing. He studied Fine Art at Saint Martin’s School of Art with postgraduate study at The Royal Academy. He was the holder of an Italian Government Scholarship and was also a recipient of the Prix de Rome in Printmaking. His work has been exhibited widely with recent mixed exhibitions including; ‘The Discerning Eye’, ‘The Eastern Open’, ‘Ugly’ at Aberystwyth University’, ‘The International Biennial of Douro, Portugal’ and the R A Summer Exhibition. His work has won a number of prizes and awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. His work is held in the collections of the University of Wales and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Ambiguous Situation: Printmaking, especially etching, is central to my artistic practice and is my primary means of expression. My large etchings evolve over long periods of time and are drawn directly onto the plate with little or no preliminary studies. The initial mark and the later, more defined marks, combine to give a layered history of the image’s development. The etchings can take more than a year of work to reach a point of failure or questionable conclusion. They are often symbolic in content, the stimuli coming from environmental concerns or the human ability to be cruel towards the world we inhabit and to other human beings.
With my etchings the technical means are simple, so that the images do not become lost in complicated processes, demanding the technical skill of others. The etchings are made in primitive conditions, grounds being applied over the kitchen stove, the biting of the acid taking place in the garden. The acid becomes anger and unpredictability whilst the printing of the plate becomes a gentler and nurturing process. This freedom from commercial pressure means that I can pursue my ideas and passions.

www.paulhawdon.co.uk

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